SHORE Benefit at Bowery Hotel - Revitalizing Rockaway, Creating Healthy Food Access

ROCKAWAY BEACH, N.Y., Sept. 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- In conjunction with the one-year anniversary of super-storm Sandy, the Rockaway Rescue Alliance's Shore Soup Project a local, community-based not for profit that formed in response to the super-storm, will hold a first major benefit on October 23, 2103 at The Bowery Hotel in New York City to raise funds to build a permanent pay-as-you-can style restaurant, SHORE. The restaurant, which will feature organic fare, will serve as an anchor for the Rockaway community as it continues to recover and will provide the residents access to healthy food, nutrition workshops, a community garden, and mentorship and employment opportunities.

The Shore Soup Project has served more than 50,000 free meals to homebound, displaced and financially struggling residents of the Rockaway peninsula following the devastating super-storm. This past summer, the Shore Soup Project rolled out an innovative, Kickstarter-funded, pay-as-you-can, relief food truck.

The SHORE benefit is an excellent opportunity to support an important and worthwhile cause, while enjoying an evening out.  Guests of the benefit will enjoy tastings from local restaurants, including Strong Place, Watty & Meg, Stinky Bklyn, The Chocolate Room, Palo Santo and others. The event will also include an art auction and installations from A.L. Steiner, Swoon, Nicole Eisenman, Ricardo Cortes, Christine Wexler, Tattfoo Tan, Maya Hayuk, Liz Collins, Reid van Renesse and Dillon de Give and many others. There will also be DJ sets by Caroline Polacheck of Chairlift and other special guests, including special emcee, Tara Mateik and guest speaker, Diahann Billings-Burford, Chief Service Officer, NYC Service. Local beer and wines will be provided by Lagunitas, Red Hook Winery and Smuttynose, among others.

Brooklyn's Sweet'N Low, which is underwriting the event, joins these great artists and restaurants to support SHORE, because they are deeply committed to this project, which blends volunteerism, community engagement and great food. A full list is available for participating chefs, artists, wineries/breweries and special guests.

SHORE Benefit Event Details
Date: Wednesday, October 23^rd, 2013 | Time: 7:30PM | Venue: The Bowery Hotel, 335 Bowery, New York City | Ticket price: $85 minimum donation in advance, $250 VIP. Tickets available at: http://bit.ly/1drj5Dz

About Shore Soup Project
Shore Soup Project was founded in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Sandy by Robyn Hillman-Harrigan, a resident of Rockaway Beach. Hillman-Harrigan and a group of fellow residents and small business owners felt the imperative to support their community's immediate needs, and began preparing and distributing organic and farm fresh meals door-to-door by bicycle. What began as a response to tragedy became a thriving volunteer organization with over 400 volunteers from the wider New York area. Over the summer of 2013, Shore Soup Project successfully launched an innovative pay-as-you-can food truck as a pilot project with the support of several funding institutions and the local community. Shore Soup Project is working to establish SHORE, a permanent pay-as-you-can Relief Restaurant, incorporating best practices learned from its mobile operations this past summer.  Shore Soup is a partner project of The Fund for the City of New York.

If you'd like more information on Shore Soup Project or to interview its founder and director, Robyn Hillman-Harrigan, contact Susan Waits at [email protected]
870-307-1658

Contacts:

SOURCE Rockaway Rescue Alliance